Home favorite Ruse to play Korpatsch for Cluj-Napoca title

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Ruse - 2023 Cluj-Napoca SF
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      Home favorite Elena-Gabriela Ruse

      View Profile will play first-time finalist Tamara Korpatsch
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      in the final of the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca. 

      The two unseeded players won their semifinal matches in straight sets Saturday. Wildcard Ruse was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over No.4 seed Rebeka Masarova

      View Profile of Spain, while Korpatsch came through an all-German match against Eva Lys
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      , 6-4, 6-3.

      Ruse played two finals in July of 2021, winning her first career Hologic WTA Tour singles title in Hamburg, Germany on clay over Andrea Petkovic and finishing runner-up to Danielle Collins

      View Profile in Palermo. 

      She hadn't reached a final since then, but picked up a win over second-seeded American Alycia Parks

      View Profile in the first round before following that up with an 81-minute win over Masarova in their first career meeting. After an easy first set, Ruse lost serve to begin the second, but quickly reestablished herself to the tune of a 6-1, 4-1 lead. 

      Then, the match got more complex: Ruse failed to serve out the match at 6-1, 5-3, and Masarova let two chances for 5-5 slip away before the Romanian finished off the win. 

      Korpatsch, meanwhile, is bidding to be the 12th first-time champion in singles on tour this year. She beat her younger compatriot in 82 minutes, taking command of the match by winning eight of nine games from 4-3 down in the first set.

      The 28-year-old German had previously not won a set in her first three tour-level semifinals, having won 12 games in the six sets in those matches. 

      Ruse owns a 2-0 head-to-head record against Korpatsch, with both of those wins coming in three sets. But the two have not played since 2020.